Zakynthos be careful

[solcina79]

Vitamina has benn at Zakynthos and it is a wonderful island for the natural lovers... There are a lot of hiden creeks and on the south you can see the torurtles ... But careful with the anchorage and the wind because sudenly the wind goes up to 30 knts in the misle of the night so it is better go next to the marina


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[Ram]

Ive gotten 60 knots thete 1 night, wont stop over night there again

[Eleuthera 2014]

Hello everyone,

Our "raggie" is in Turkey and we'll be coming back west bound this summer as we begin our circumnavigation.

Greece is subject to "Meltemi" winds (from the North) in the summer and the conditions reported by our above mates are well known. The pattern is well described in Rod Heikel's pilot books too.

Precautions are needed: we have a large anchor on our bows; a 35 kg (77 lbs) Ultra with 100 meters (330 feet) of 10 MM chain followed by 50 meters of heavy duty rode swaged into the chain links. We also have a secondary CQR of 25 KGs...

Be careful out there.

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by Eleuthera 2014

Hello everyone,

Our "raggie" is in Turkey and we'll be coming back west bound this summer as we begin our circumnavigation.

Greece is subject to "Meltemi" winds (from the North) in the summer and the conditions reported by our above mates are well known. The pattern is well described in Rod Heikel's pilot books too.

Precautions are needed: we have a large anchor on our bows; a 35 kg (77 lbs) Ultra with 100 meters (330 feet) of 10 MM chain followed by 50 meters of heavy duty rode swaged into the chain links. We also have a secondary CQR of 25 KGs...

Be careful out there.

Not doubting that it can be windy in the Ionian, but isn't the Meltemi wind specifically an Aegean phenomenon?

We chartered in the Ionian near the end of the season (September?), they said the summer wind pattern had already collapsed. We were woken up before dawn one morning with a strong wind from the south that lasted until mid morning on Cephalonia.

[Dockhead]

If you don't want to be whacked in the night by katabatic storms, don't anchor out under mountains. This phenomenon is not limited to the Aegean.

[cal40john]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

If you don't want to be whacked in the night by katabatic storms, don't anchor out under mountains. This phenomenon is not limited to the Aegean.

Not arguing about katabatic winds. The Meltemi can cause local katabatic winds, but isn't a katabatic wind itself.


Wind of the World: Meltemi - Weather UK - weatheronline.co.uk

Meltemi is the Greek and Turkish name for the well known etesian wind blowing from north to northwest across the Aegean Sea. The meltemi flows from a high pressure ridge over the Balkans towards a heat trough over the Anatolian Plateau.

However, the numerous Aegean Islands and mountain gaps are channeling the wind causing gusty, vigorous jet-effects and lee eddies as well as local katabatic winds.

Although the etesian winds are part of the large scale Asian monsoon system, the meltemi might also be caused or enhanced by regional-scale weather patterns, i.e. a local heat trough over Turkey and relatively cold Aegean waters and resulting high pressure.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by cal40john

Not arguing about katabatic winds. The Meltemi can cause local katabatic winds, but isn't a katabatic wind itself.


Wind of the World: Meltemi - Weather UK - weatheronline.co.uk

Meltemi is the Greek and Turkish name for the well known etesian wind blowing from north to northwest across the Aegean Sea. The meltemi flows from a high pressure ridge over the Balkans towards a heat trough over the Anatolian Plateau.

However, the numerous Aegean Islands and mountain gaps are channeling the wind causing gusty, vigorous jet-effects and lee eddies as well as local katabatic winds.

Although the etesian winds are part of the large scale Asian monsoon system, the meltemi might also be caused or enhanced by regional-scale weather patterns, i.e. a local heat trough over Turkey and relatively cold Aegean waters and resulting high pressure.

You won't get a katabatic storm while the Meltemi is blowing, because the thermal inversion which causes these can't form.

Katabatic storms, both localized and larger scale, are common in the Aegean and Adriatic. They are like an avalanche of cold air falling down a mountain and cause just the thing described by the OP. I got whacked by one in Croatia about 10 years ago -- was memorable, to say the least.